Brookhaven Votes On 18 Month Ai Data Center Moratorium

The Brookhaven Town Board has unanimously approved an 18-month moratorium on all data centers within the Town of Brookhaven. This decision came after residents gathered to protest and express concerns before Thursday's meeting. The town's action follows a statewide moratorium on AI data centers implemented by Gov. Kathy Hochul, which is set to last one year to allow for research.

Residents like Sonja Urrico, who lives near a proposed data center in Yaphank, voiced fears and called for independent studies on the projects' impacts. Lynne Maher of Brookhaven emphasized that such facilities, once established, are difficult to remove. While most public comments opposed data centers, some, including the plumbers and pipefitters union, argued that the moratorium would eliminate well-paying union jobs and hinder technological progress.

Michael Bowden, director of development for Wildflower, the company proposing the data center, highlighted that a robust review process already addresses environmental concerns such as electricity and water consumption, and noise pollution. He stated that Wildflower has conducted acoustic noise studies, will cover electricity costs, and plans to use a closed-loop water system requiring only 700,000 gallons, equivalent to an Olympic-sized swimming pool, which he described as minimal. Bowden also emphasized the project's potential to create thousands of construction jobs and generate millions in property taxes.